Siebe-BTR Moves up the IT Chain with Acquisition of Marcam

Invensys plc (London), the name chosen last February for the combination of Siebe and BTR, two UK-based conglomerates with extensive process control and automation businesses, has come out of the chute with guns blazing. One of its first major actions is the purchase of Marcam Solutions Inc. (Newton, MA), announced on May 28, for approximately $60 million in stock. The companies note that General Atlantic Partners, a major backer of Marcam, has approved the deal.

There's a lot of process automation history wrapped up in this deal. Siebe had built up a considerable base in European acquisitions, and then purchased Foxboro to form the heart of an Intelligent Automation Div. headquartered in Foxboro, MA. Subsequently, it bought Wonderware, a leading factory-automation software vendor, and Simulation Sciences, a design and control software vendor. BTR has substantial holdings in control valves and other process equipment.

Marcam, while it is a leading vendor in enterprise-resource management (ERP) for the process industries, is a small fraction of the size of the leading vendor, SAP AG (Walldorf, Germany). Its roots go back to the days of MRP (materials resource planning) with Mapics, a product that subsequently was spun off as its own company. Today, Marcam employs 715 employees and has more than 1,400 customers in 40+ countries worldwide. For the twelve months ended Sept. 30, 1998, Marcam had sales of $124.52 million, which yielded an operating loss of $6.2 million.

"The acquisition of Marcam is a major step toward realizing our vision of a realtime, bottoms up, plant-focused ERP system," said Roy Slavin, president and CEO of Wonderware. "The combination of Marcam, our FactorySuite and the commercial simulation software from our sister company, Simulation Sciences, will enable us to extend our already broad software product offerings into the higher end world of enterprise software." George Sarney, chief of the Intelligent Automation Div., noted the continuing emphasis on "control room to boardroom" automation being put together by Invensys.

Operating globally through over 500 companies and employing over 120,000 people, Invensys is a worldwide leader in automation and controls. More than 75% of the company's business is control- and automation-based, with products ranging from advanced control systems for automating industrial plants and controlling the environments of buildings, to electronic devices found in many domestic and commercial appliances.

By Nick Basta